Les terroirs viticoles ont une histoire

Context and purpose of the study. Globally, vineyard cultivation uses conventional methods to manage pests, diseases and increase yield.

Monferrato is a sub region of Piedmont featuring an endless series of hills which have been moulded through the centuries by laborious farming. Vineyards have always been the protagonists of Monferrato landscape. Asti vineyards have been well-known since Roman times and Pliny the Elder mentions them.

Vineyard cover cropping is a cultural practice widely used in many of the world’s winegrowing regions being one of the most recommended practices to face climate changes and to promote vineyard environmental sustainability.

Growing concerns over the environmental and health risks posed by chemical pesticides have highlighted the need to reduce their use in the agri-food sector.

Introduction: Malolactic fermentation (MLF) is a common process in winemaking to reduce wine acidity, maintain microbial stability and modify wine aroma. However, successful MLF is often hampered by their sluggish or stuck activity of malolactic bacteria (MLB) which may be caused by nutrient deficiency, especially when MLB are inoculated after alcoholic fermentation (Alexandre et al., 2004; Lerm et al., 2010). Identification and characterization of essential nutrients and growth factors for MLB allows for production of highly efficient nutrient supplements for MLF.